My first Azureshipping fanfiction. Hope readers enjoy the reading and leave a review if you have time. I have always enjoy reading stories with Tea/Anzu and Seto set in ancient Egypt. The setting makes it more interesting for me :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Chapter 1
It was early in the morning; the sun was barely up. The wind blew the sails toward the island of Sicily. The ship was sailing from the great city of Athens, Greece. The passengers were all preparing their baskets of agricultural products to be sold at the markets in the town Lilibeo (which is now called Marsala).
There were other passengers on the ship that were there not for business, but for other reasons. Some were children who went along with their parents or guardians to help or just to watch the experience of work in the markets. Others range from early adults to elderly who were traveling to enjoy the beauty of another country or to sell their products.
Two figures in dark robes stood near the deck of the ship, looking ahead to their destination. Their faces were covered by a thin, same dark-colored fabric as their robes, leaving only their eyes to be visible. Both had blue eyes, but of different shades.
The taller of the two, although not that much taller, had cerulean blue eyes that were very much the color of the ocean when the sun hit it in the right angle and time. The other person had ebony blue eyes, so dark you can take them as black.
"Princess," the figure with ebony blue eyes said, "are you sure this is all right, because if his Lord finds out that you are gone, I will be in serious trouble."
"Relax, Miho, with me in your corner to back you up, there is no way Papa would do anything to hurt you. I promise," Princess Téa said with a gentle smile.
"But…" Miho, the Princess's personal maid and closest female friend, was worried about the consequences if the King of Greece finds out that his daughter had sneaked out of the palace and onto a ship headed for Sicily.
"Don't worry, Miho, we'll be all right," Téa assured the girl. Miho seemed to relax a bit since she knew that the Princess is brave, but sometimes Miho still worries about Téa's safety.
The two females continued to look out into the ocean where the water was moving back and forth in an elegant rhythm.
The captain of the ship walked around the deck to make sure that everyone got the message that they will be soon arriving in Lilibeo in two more hours (don't know how long it actually takes, but just estimating and just make-believe that they may have been on the ship for a while now before the arrival announcement is made).
The captain spoke to the two masked figures and bowed gentlemanly as soon as they got the message, and he continued to walk on to make the announcement.
Miho turned to the Princess and said, "Princess, I think we should plan out what we are going to do before we get to the Lilibeo market, for we do not want to miss the leaving ship when it is time."
"Yes, we should," Téa said. So, for the next half hour, the two females discussed what they were going to do for the time being when people will be selling their products since the market selling only takes 3 hours in Lilibeo from what Miho had heard from the elderly people who sell various vegetables.
There was only an hour left until the ship arrives in the port of Lilibeo, Sicily. Everything was going great until there was a sudden crash on the ship.
Téa and Miho looked in the direction the sound came from, but didn't see anything until there was screaming. People who had been up in front of the ship were now running in the back direction of the vessel.
"What's going on?" Miho asked a woman running past by them, who had a terrified look on her face.
"Some foreign men have taken over the ship. Hurry! Run away and hide yourselves, otherwise you will suffer a horrible fate if they capture you," the woman replied.
"Princess, let's go," Miho pulled on Téa's arm to get her away as far as possible because Miho knew she could not let anything bad happens to the Princess.
Téa allowed Miho to direct her, but before they could get anywhere, a sword blade was on Téa's shoulder.
"Do not move or I will kill you," a rough male voice demanded in a foreign language.
Téa did not move a single muscle. Without turning around, she recognized that language as Egyptian. She had studied enough languages to differentiate them from one to the other.
Miho had grown up with Téa and received the same education as the Princess, but she did not have much knowledge as Téa does. Miho had studied the Egyptian language and culture also, but she does not understand everything about it. Luckily, she had some understanding of what the man had said. Miho looked fearfully at Téa and worried about the Princess's safety.
Téa gave Miho's hand a calm squeeze, reassuring her that everything is going to be fine. Miho was not sure of that if what that woman had said about them suffering a horrible fate became true. Miho could not live with herself if Téa undergoes anything awful.
The man held up the club in his other hand and poked Téa in the back to make her go forward. The two women followed the order without a complaint. They were pushed into a dark cellar on the ship. Although there was not a lot of light, Téa and Miho could see other passengers from the ship locked down in the room.
"Mommy, what is going on?" one little girl asked her mother, who shook violently with fear.
"I don't know, sweetie, but hopefully everything is going to be fine," the mother assured her daughter, although she was not sure what is going to become of their life.
"I heard that when ships get hijacked by foreigners, they usually take us back to their country to sell us as slaves," one woman whispered to her friend.
"I heard that, too, but some are lucky enough to escape from that kind of fate," another female added to the conversation.
"Téa," Miho, remembering to call the Princess by her name whenever they were out in town for they do not want the villagers to know their identity, said, "this is bad. What if your father finds out that you are gone? He will not know where to find you, and if he does, we will be big trouble."
"Miho, don't worry. I will think of something, so that we won't end up as slaves to some old creep in Egypt," Téa whispered.
"I hope you are right about that, Téa," Miho still had that concerned look on her face.
Tea reassured Miho with a warm smile. In no time, the two fell asleep.
Soft hands roamed through silky hair. Hot and passionate kisses everywhere. An aromatic fragrance with a hint of sweat dispersed in the air. Slow and seductive. Fast and lustful. Hand in hand. Hungry for one another. The sound of pleasurable moans and groans filled the room. Love bites on every inch of the body.
Téa woke up from her sleep and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She felt a strange sensation mixed with nervousness in her stomach. That was a strange dream, she thought. Tea decided to stay awake for the rest of the ship ride.
After what seems like an eternity, there was a sudden shifting of the ship. The anchor was released into the water, and the ship came to a halt at the port of the foreign land of Egypt. Some women worried themselves so much that they fell asleep. When they felt the stopping motion, they stirred awake from their slumber.
The door to the cellar opened, and some men with dark skin formed the women into two lines, leading them the way down the ship. The men had ropes to bind the hands of the women. Téa tried to get her legs back to life again because they were numb from sitting too long in the crowded cellar with the other female captives.
The lines of women were ordered to get onto a cart that was small and cramp. Every female made as much room as she could for her fellow gender.
Téa and Miho, still draped in their dark robes, got their way onto the cart. The ride was not that long. It was around maybe an hour later that they started hearing noises. Very loud noises. Téa guessed they must have arrived in the village market.
Some of the previous dark-skinned men opened the door of the cart and let the women out. The women followed the men and found themselves walking up to a platform in the middle of the town.
The villagers, mostly men, crowded around the stage. Téa and Miho looked at one another, wondering what is going to happen.
"Ladies and gentlemen," one of the Egyptian men, who looked like he was the leader of the pact, announced. "We present to you women from the far away land of Greece."
"Shall we start the bidding?" a man of shorter stature standing on the right side of the announcer said.
"I want to take a closer look at these women," one of the men in the crowd said with a lustful look.
Some of the captive females huddled close together to keep away the man, so he would not touch them.
The man walked onto the platform and went down the line, taking a careful look at each female before he descended upon Téa. He moved his hand to remove her mask, but she slapped his hand away.
"Don't you dare touch her," Miho shouted in Greek, while glaring dead on at the man.
The man laughed loudly, and so did the other villagers. The man stopped his laughing and continued to try to remove Téa's mask. Téa had never let any man touch her, with the exception of her father that is. She pulled back her hand back in a fist, punched the man as hard as she could and grabbed Miho's hand to jump off the platform.
"Why are we here, general?" one solider asked.
"I think we are getting some reward for being such good soldiers," another solider laughed.
"You can say we are getting some reward, but it's not for me or you guys," general Darius said.
"Who would it be for, sir?" the first soldier named Hikaru asked.
"It would be for my great friend, Priest Seto," Darius replied, and without turning to look, he can sense two set of jaws dropping to the ground in shock.
"Priest Seto?" the two soldiers almost shouted, but they remembered where they were, so they said in their normal voices.
"Yes."
"What is it that you are getting him for a reward, might I ask, sir?" the second soldier, Toshi, asked.
"Simple, the opposite of every man is a woman."
"A woman?" Hikaru asked.
"Are you okay, general Darius?" Toshi asked and added, "Because last time I checked, Priest Seto had no interest in women at all. We even speculate he might be…you know what."
"No, of course not," Darius chuckled at the thought of his friend being interested in men. If anyone should know about Seto's sexuality, it should be him or Mokuba, Seto's younger brother, for that matter.
"So, we are going to look for a woman for Priest Seto, why?" Hikaru asked.
"Because I think it's high time he got himself a woman and married, don't you think?" Darius replied.
"Yes, but don't you think we should pity the poor woman that is going to be spending the rest of her life with that arrogant Priest?"
"Yeah, I would, but Seto is not who he looks to be," Darius said with a chuckle.
"What kind of woman are we looking for him? A prostitute? I am not too sure about Priest Seto appreciating that," Hikaru said.
"No, you're right. We have to find a woman who is not of that sort. We have to decide carefully in the woman we are looking for," Darius suggested.
"But isn't the main maid, Shizuka, promise to Seto by the Pharaoh already? I thought she was the Pharaoh's gift as a concubine for Seto until he marries," Toshi asked.
"Yes, but you have both notice that Seto does not take interest in the girl, though she has quite the feelings for him," Darius answered Toshi's curiosity.
"So, we're finding a woman for him here in the slave district?" Toshi asked.
"Well, not only that, but because we have a job to do, which is to watch the market, Toshi," Darius answered.
The three militiamen walked on. Everyone was generous in greeting them as they walked by the market sellers. As they were about to the round the corner, something crashed into general Darius.
The young general grabbed hold of whatever slammed into him. He found his grip on two feminine arms. He looked down and saw he was holding a female behind dark-colored robe. A piece of fabric, made of the same material much like her robe, covered her face except for her eyes. He saw that her eyes were a rare shade of blue. It was magnificent; it was like looking out into the ocean during a sunset.
The female turned to her companion, and that was when Darius took notice of the second female. She was a bit shorter than the one he was holding in his embrace. She dressed similarly to her friend. But her eyes were of a darker blue.
"Excuse us," the female spoke as she broke away from Darius's hold. Darius recognized the language as Greek. Téa grabbed Miho's hand and ran away.
Darius's mind went back to a few days earlier when he had a conversation with the Priestess Ishizu. He vaguely remembered her telling him to keep an eye out for a woman who spoke Greek. He asked her why it was so important. She replied that it was for the happiness of Priest Seto.
Darius ran after the two females and caught up with them in no time due to the difference in leg length. He grabbed hold of one of the females' arms and stopped them from running any farther.
"I am sorry to bother you, Miss, but you seem to be in trouble. So, I was wondering if I could be of some help," Darius suggested with a faint smile.
The female with light azure eyes squinted with suspicion, but softened a bit when she sensed sincerity from his wordings. The other female, whose arm Darius was holding, swatted his hand away.
"I don't think so," the darker blue eye colored female said.
"Well, if it helps to calm you, I am one of the highest ranking generals for the royal palace here in Egypt. I can swear to you that I am here to help people in need, not harm them, if that is what you are wondering," Darius can tell that there was no use in looking for a positive response from the darker eye colored female, so he looked to the other female and found her studying him with her eyes.
"I see," the azure eyed female said. "Well, sir, I mean, general, if you can help us, then we are grateful for your assistance," Téa smiled under her cloth.
Miho could not believe what she was hearing and turned her attention on the princess. She looked back to the general and saw him smiling.
"Are you sure we can trust him, Princess?" Miho whispered into Téa's ear. Miho got her answer from the hand squeeze Téa gave her. Miho sighed deeply and softened her face a bit.
"All right, so where are you going to take us, general?" Téa asked him.
Before he could answer, the man in charge of the slave auction ran up and shoved the general aside. He grabbed Téa's arm and started to drag her. The man was stopped short when he smacked into general Darius who did not look quite pleased. Behind the general were the two soldiers, Hikaru and Toshi.
"general Darius, sorry, I did not see you there," the man apologized with a low bow. The man tried to drag Téa around the militiamen, but Darius placed his hand on the man's shoulder.
"That's all right, but I don't think you are going to be taking this young lady anywhere with you," Darius said.
"general, I don't think you understand. She is among the newest female slaves, and I can tell she has an air about her that will definitely let me get the highest pay ever," the man said.
"Sorry, but she is not coming with you. Neither lady is, just to make it clearer," Darius gently pulled Téa and Miho away from the man and shielded them behind him.
"general, if you are not going to let me sell them to the highest bidders, then are you saying that you will buy them?" the man asked.
Darius reached into his clothing and held out a bag full of money.
"Hope this is a good amount," Darius tossed the bag to the man who smiled when he looked at the content in the bag.
"Oh, it is more than enough, general. Thank you," the man bowed and went back to the slave auction platform.
Darius turned his attention to the two females. "I guess that problem is solved now. Shall we get going?"
"Where are you taking us?" Téa asked.
"To the royal palace," Darius said with a smile.
"Don't worry, ma'am, general Darius is a good man and would never lie," Hikaru said to assure Téa and Miho of their concern of the three strangers, even though he doubted they would understand the Egyptian language.
"Yes, ma'am, we promise we won't hurt you in any kind of way, so please just follow us to the palace" Toshi chipped into the reassurance.
Miho still had her doubts about the three military men, but judging from Téa's features, she was sure Téa was going to listen and follow them to the palace.
"You said you were going to help, and you did just a moment ago with the situation concerning the gentleman in charge of the slave auction. We are very grateful for that. I think you can head onto wherever you are going, for my companion and I are going to leave this place once we have a boat that takes us back to Greece," Téa told the three men.
Téa took hold of Miho's arm and steered themselves away, but Darius grasped Téa's arm.
"I can tell that you want to leave this place, but let me just warn you that it is dangerous for two females to travel alone when during this time of season, many bandits from foreign lands are hijacking ships and taking all the women as slaves. Who knows where you might end up if you board a ship back to Greece. Why don't you come to the palace and tell us your situation, so we can help you get back to your homeland," Darius suggested.
"If you are willing to help us get back to our country, then what about the other women who are falling victims to slavery as we were bound to be if you had not helped us?" Téa replied back.
"Well…" Darius was speechless. Most women would be happy to have men rescue them, but this particular Greek female was not. She seemed to care more for the welfare of her own species and would have endure the same fate as them had he not helped her.
"Thank you for your concern, general, but we have to get going," Téa and Miho began to walk away.
Darius sighed and turned to Hikaru and Toshi with a nod. The two knew what he meant and went up behind the two females. Toshi wrapped his arms around Miho's waist, while Hikaru had Téa's.
Miho began screaming, but her screams turned into muffles as Toshi covered her cloth-covered mouth with one of his hands.
Téa struggled against Hikaru's hold, and when she had freed one of her arms, she stabbed into the guy's stomach with her elbow. Hikaru's grasp broke, and Téa was freed. She tried to help Miho, but before she could, she was captured again. This time, a pair of stronger arms held her. One hand seized both of her wrists. Everything happened so fast that before she knew, her hands were tied up.
Darius smirked at the little vixen who was trying hard to break loose from the binding of the ribbon. He had secured the ribbon not too tightly, but sturdy enough for her not to easily untie it. He picked her up bridal style and walked toward the direction of the palace.
"Are you all right, Hikaru?" Darius asked the soldier.
"Yeah, just a minor bruise probably," Hikaru said.
"Hope it's nothing too serious. Why don't you walk with Toshi and help him keep an eye on that young lady, while I carry this one," Darius smiled down at the woman he was carrying. She struggled against him, but he ignored her, including the punches she was giving his chest.
Many bystanders looked on as the three men walked the market street with two females covered from head to toe in black clothing.
"Good day, general Darius" a young woman shouted, and in response, Darius bowed his head slightly as a greeting.
The young woman swooned from the gesture, but it was mostly due to the handsome features general Darius has. There were two other women beside who had seen the greeted nod from Darius and swooned also.
"What a lucky woman to be carried in his arms," one of the three women said.
"Definitely lucky," the woman who had greeted Darius said with a bit of jealously.
The three militiamen reached the palace's gates, and by that time, Téa had given up on fighting the man who carried her. There was no point for he won't budge a single muscle or loosen his hold on her. She tired herself out that she somehow had leaned her head to rest on his chest.
"We're here," Darius announced.
The guards at the gates opened the doors and looked at the general who was carrying a person in his arms. Darius saw the question in the guards' eyes, but did not say anything.
Hikaru and Toshi, who was still carrying Miho, followed Darius to the back of the palace, where the kitchen was.
They entered the kitchen's back door. Darius placed the Téa on the ground, but due to the long time that she was carried in his arms, her legs buckled, and she almost fell. But one strong arm wrapped itself around her back, and she was saved.
"Thank you," Téa said. She had took notice of his face back in the market place, but up close, she saw that his eyes were of grayish blue and had sandy blond hair. In the daylight, she saw that he was of a light shade of tan. Handsome was the word that came to mind with this man.
"No problem," Darius smiled as he positioned her upright correctly. He was still amazed at how beautiful her eyes were. A fascinating color she had. He suddenly remembered her tied hands, so he untied them for her.
"Sorry, hope it was not too tight on you," Darius apologized.
"No, it was not," Téa said. "But, exactly, why are we here?"
"Well, since you ladies are guests here, we thought we provide you with food, although I think the servants are out for the day or are elsewhere in the palace right now," Darius said.
"Oh, thank you," was all Téa had to say.
"By the way, my name is Darius, if you had not taken notice. Over there are Hikaru, the one you elbowed, and Toshi," Darius introduced himself and the soldiers.
"Nice to meet you. Um, sorry about before," Téa looked into the direction of the guy she elbowed earlier.
"It's all right. If I was a woman like you, I would do the same thing also," Hikaru said.
"Pleasure to meet you, miss. What is your name?" Toshi asked.
Téa and Miho exchanged a glance. Before either could say anything, there were people entering the kitchen. An elderly woman entered first, followed by a few maid servants.
"general Darius, I didn't know you were in here. Oh, who do we have here?" the elderly woman questioned as soon as she saw the two black-cloth covered figures in the kitchen.
"Oh, these ladies will be staying here for a while. I brought them here for a bite since they look like they haven't had something for hours now," Darius explained.
"All right," the woman said. "What would you like to eat, dearies?"
"Anything is fine, ma'am," Téa answered.
"How about I fix something fresh and hot for you both?" Before Téa and Miho could answer, the woman was busy, running around the kitchen to whip up something for the girls to eat.
"If you don't mind, I will leave them in your hands, Mrs. Ebe," Darius said.
"No, I don't mind," Mrs. Ebe smiled. "Oh, it seemed we're short on two dancers for the ceremony tonight, so the Pharaoh asked me to send you out on a search for substitutes. And, one of them has to be a fast learner if she is to be the main lead."
"Where is general Darius going to find two dancers in time for the ceremony, and to top that have them, especially the main one, learn the dance quickly enough?" Toshi asked.
To everyone's surprise, Téa answered.
"I don't think you need to look far. My companion and I are dancers, so hope you don't mind giving us a chance to help out in retribution to you saving us, general," Téa said.
Hope readers enjoy the chapter. This won't be updated for a while since I have other fanfictions I should work on, but I just could not resist on releasing this one. It is one of many Azureshipping stories I have in my document at the moment, and the only one I have finish chapter 1 for. Hopefully, I will finish the other stories soon, so I can focus on this more :)